Four Innovative Kickstarter Projects We All Want (And Need)
If you haven’t noticed, we’re quite a creative bunch here at Prager Creative. So it’s no shock that one of our favorite downtime activities is to scroll the pages of Kickstarter and see what’s new. But, we’re also highly strategic people, which means we don’t get excited just because something is different, quirky, or well-designed. We also want to know whether these new projects actually solve a problem. Just like a clever ad campaign, it’s all well good if it’s incredibly creative, but if it’s not fulfilling a need, then there really isn’t much benefit to having it.
With that in mind, we decided to round up some of our favorite Kickstarter projects – both past and present – and explain why they made it to the top of our ‘Great Idea!’ list.
SensorWake Trio Alarm Clock
What is it: SensorWake is an alarm clock that stimulates not one, not two, but three senses to rouse you from slumber. Using scent, soft light, and sound, there’s definitely no excuse for you to hit the snooze button again (unless of course, you want to enjoy the sweet aromas a second time round…)
Why We Love It: Alarm clocks, as we know them, have reportedly been around since the late 18th century. The common element of them all is sound – we have relied on noise in all it’s iterations to wake us. This product took the concept of “that’s how we’ve always done it” and flipped it on it’s head. Devising an easy to use system that expels scent is no small feat either. There’s definitely a few members of our team who would rather wake up to a delightful scent (ahem, coffee) than the blare of their iPhone alarms.
BudgetPlan
What is it: An app that takes care of personal budgeting. Calculate how much you need to set aside from each paycheck to pay off your bills, or let the app allocate payments for you. It’s as easy as that.
Why We Love It: We love all things FinTech, and BudgetPlan has huge potential to make our lives easier. It’s like having a personal financial planner with you at all times. No need to question whether you have the money to splurge this month or not, the app will tell you right away how much you have left to treat yo’self.
Upright Go
What is it: A wearable that improves your posture. Wear it, feel it, and sit up straight. Ok, so there’s a little more to it than that. This tiny egg shape contraption gently buzzes every time you slouch, and connects to an app that helps train and track your progress.
Why We Love It: Wearables are almost past that stage of ‘the next big thing’ (they’re now pretty mainstream), and we believe this a perfect example of how technology and design can work together to improve our lives on a daily basis. As we spend increased hours hunched over our devices, Upright Go is a smart, modern antidote to a very modern – and prevalent – health problem. It’s much nicer and easier than reminding yourself of your 3rd Grade school teacher telling you not to slouch!
Ernit
What is it: A digital piggy bank. Using the core concepts of the traditional piggy pink, Ernit teaches kids how to save and manage money by integrating a very cute digital pig with a learning app.
Why We Love It: We are living in an increasingly cashless society, and children are now born into a world where technology rules. But there is still huge a disconnect when teaching kids about money, especially when they are seeing it in its physical form less and less. Ernit closes the gap by combining online and physical learning tools. There’s no doubt that kids learn through sight, sound and touch, and this allows future generations to learn the value of money, all without having to touch or interact with it physically. It seems an extremely smart way to prepare our kids for the future of finances.